As a first year MD-Ph.D. student, I am currently a full-time medical student. Separate from the medical curriculum, I am enrolled in Immunology 599, a seminar course intended to introduce first-year Ph.D students to current faculty research. I will take an additional graduate course and an independent study before the completion of the first two years of medical school. I intend to conduct research under the direction of Dr. David Weiner in the summer of 2003 as my first lab rotation. I will commence my fulltime Ph.D. training starting my third year (fall 2004) as an Immunology graduate student. In this capacity, I will spend 40% of my time in my thesis lab, while at the same time completing coursework requirements for the Ph.D. program. For my thesis project, I will take an immunological approach to infectious disease research. This field of study will prepare me for future research in vaccine or therapeutic regimens for those diseases that most afflict developing countries. [unreadable] [unreadable]